DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from applicant's description) The Meiosis Gordon Conference will be held on June 14-19, 1998, at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, New Hampshire. In at least 10% of human pregnancies, improper segregation of the chromosome occurs in meiosis, leading to miscarriages or birth defects. Improper chromosome number is a leading cause of mental retardation in this country. Thus, understanding the mechanisms that control meiosis and meiotic chromosome segregation is highly relevant to the mission of the NICHD. The Meiosis Gordon Conference will provide the opportunity for scientists throughout the world to meet and discuss meiosis. The meeting will have about 140 participants, most of whom are principle investigators at academic institutions from throughout the world. In addition, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and members of industrial laboratories will also attend. There will be about 40 lectures that will cover all aspects of meiosis in model organisms as well as in humans. In addition, a range of approaches including cytology, genetics, cell biology, and biochemistry will be represented. The plenary sessions will cover chromosome structure and nuclear architecture, chromosome condensation and synapsis, recombination mechanisms, homolog and sister-chromatid segregation, checkpoints and feedback controls, control of the meiotic cell cycle, and germ cells and gametogenesis. Two other mechanisms for scientific exchanges will occur: poster sessions and workshops. The Meiosis Gordon Conference is only of only two scientific meetings that focus on meiosis. The other is a meeting held on alternate years in Europe which is sponsored by the Federation of European Biochemical Societies. This conference was help in April of 1997 in Wageningen, Netherlands, and focused on chromosome pairing. In addition to being the only meeting on meiosis in 1998, the Meiosis Gordon Conference will cover all aspects of meiosis, including the cell cycle and gametogenesis.